This invention is an improvement over the invention described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,043 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 512,426 by this inventor. The bracket described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,043 had a weakness in that it was not strong enough to bear heavy loads in a suitcase. This is because the connecting strip 45 shown in FIG. 5 and 8 of the above described patent had to flex in order to release the axle, and the repeated bending was of a magnitude such that the connecting strip 45 frequently broke. Consequently the bracket described in the prior patent needed improvement.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 512,426 solved this problem but the structure described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 512,426 was expensive to make. The current patent application is simpler in design and more economical to manufacture.
What is needed therefore and comprises an important object of this invention is to provide a locking lever for an improved bracket for suitcases which is strong enough to hold a heavily loaded suitcase being pulled over a rough surface. In one improved version of the bracket, only a small part of the axle retaining member flexes when the axle is inserted in the axle receiving slot and the flexure of this part is independent of the weight of the suitcase so the bracket won't break.
As will be seen below, in another improved version described below, the flexing part of the bracket is located away from the axle receiving slots so that it is independent of the weight of the suitcase. In addition, the wheels attached to the bracket assembly can be easily locked onto the bracket or removed from it by a simple rotation of a lever.
The principle object of this invention is to provide a bracket which can be attached to a suitcase or luggage so designed to enable an axle with wheels to be easily attached or removed from the bracket.